The Popular Kids
by xAddictedToWordsx
Summary: In episode 1x10, Morgan had to watch whilst Reid was held at gunpoint by a teenage Unsub. How did that affect them, and what happened after the Unsub was taken away? My take on a behind-the-scenes look at after Morgan took Cory away in 'The Popular Kids'. (MorganxReid)


**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. Any characters or related settings are not mine and belong to CBS and Jeff Davis unless otherwise stated. **

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Derek Morgan stood in front of Cory Bridges, his suspicions about the boy's guilt cementing in his mind. Already he could see that the boy knew that Derek had worked out that he was the killer, but he was trying to deny it even to himself. Derek spread his arms out wide in an unthreatening pose, as he spoke.

"I couldn't have found this place without you."

Just then, there was a familiar shout from not too far away.

"Hey, Morgan, no-one's up there."

No! Reid was getting closer and there was nothing Derek could do to stop him in time. In front of his eyes, he saw Spencer stumble through the fallen leaves, his eyes never landing on Cody until the boy grabbed him from behind, his gun quickly lodging itself in the soft underside of Spencer's jaw, his voice snarling a command into Reid's ear as he did so.

"Get over here!"

"Reid! Reid!"

Drawing his gun towards the young man, Derek met the wide eyes of the young genius, who seemed utterly shocked by the sudden change in scenario. After a second, he younger man's eyes screwed up tight in fear, and Derek desperately tried to gain the boy's attention, to drag to away from Reid..

"Cory!"

Spencer's arms came up out of the way, trying to avoid struggling or pressing closer to the gun at his throat.

"This has got all messed up."

Derek wanted to do something, but other than pulling his gun, there was nothing else to do. Reid was completely at the mercy of the agitated young man whose finger was on the trigger, and Derek had to bite back his frustration at the helplessness of his situation. His voice was tight and controlled when he spoke, never taking his eyes off the other two men.

"Don't be stupid."

"She wasn't supposed to be with him. It was _his_ run; he runs it every day, _not_ her!"

Cory was getting more and more riled up the more he spoke, and Derek could see him taking small steps backwards, dragging Reid along with him, who bent at an odd angle trying to keep his taller frame from staggering in Cory's shorter hold.

"Cory, listen to me. We can fix this, but you've got to let Reid go."

In his attempts to placate he boy, Derek forgot to use the young doctor's title, and he saw something change in the boy then. The anger faded away and he met Derek's gaze evenly. He pushed the gun further into Spencer's cheek, and his voice took on a mocking tone.

"I never meant to hurt her, but make no mistake. I will shoot your boy, right now."

There is was. _Your_ boy. Derek bit back frustration and tried to keep his voice level.

"No you won't."

Cory clicked off the safety of the gun aimed at Spencer. The sound was deafeningly loud in the silent surroundings of the forest.

"I'm not a desperate man. PUT THE GUN DOWN!"

The boy's sudden anger jolted Derek into action, and he lifted his hands in surrender, holding his weapon in one hand as he lifted his hands away from his body.

"Okay, alright, you win."

"Drop it. Drop the gun!"

Derek spread his hands out wide, holding onto the gun by a fingertip as he began to lower the weapon to the ground. He looked at Reid and saw that the young man had his eyes clenched tightly shut again. Derek never stopped talking as he lowered the gun to the ground and then straightened back up gently, hands out in front of him in surrender.

"Okay, okay! You win. I'm putting the gun down. You're in control, Cory; let him go."

Spencer attempted to look at the boy holding him hostage, but from where he was, he could only see the cold barrel of the gun pressing into his cheek. He looked around for a moment before speaking, not once looking away from the gun.

"For the evil is man's best force, man must become better and eviler."

Cory's face didn't change, and his eyes never wavered from Morgan, but his tone was tight and confused as he spoke.

"What?"

"That's what this is about, right? Uh, Zarathustra, the superman? There's no moral obligation for killing someone if you're superior to them? When he was speaking metaphorically, about evolving as a species-"

Derek saw his opening, and cut in with blatant honesty, trying to get the boy's attention away from Spencer and onto him.

"-You're just a horny kid who wanted to get rid of the cheerleader's boyfriend."

Anger clouded Cory's face.

"No!"

Derek countered his argument just as vehemently, knowing their plan was going in the right direction.

"Yes!"

The gun finally moved away from Spencer to point towards Derek instead.

"That was never my intention!"

The gun landed on Derek, but instead of giving the boy a chance to shoot, Spencer struck the boy's arm, knocking the gun away and pulling to the side to break his hold around Spencer's neck.

"Come on!" Derek commanded as he ran for the two grappling just in front of him and took them to the ground, making sure to grab hold of the boy's arm that held the gun. There was a bang, dangerously close, but the bullet flew harmlessly into the trees, missing its target.

Cory struggled, trying to get away, and Derek hauled him up by the front of his jacket and delivered a well-aimed punch to the jaw that had the boy lolling back to the ground, disorientated. Derek looked back towards Spencer as Cory spat blood into the leaves. He caught the young genius by the neck, one hand sliding over the junction between his neck and his shoulder; their eyes met, and Derek could see Spencer trying to regain his calm.

"You alright?"

Breathing heavily, the younger agent looked between Derek and Cory in bewilderment.

"What happened?"

Derek didn't let go of Spencer as he looked down at Cory, but he could feel Reid's gaze still on his face as he spoke. Only after he'd finished speaking did he let his arm drop down to brace himself on the floor.

"Him bringing us down here was too much of a coincidence."

Spencer made a noise of indignation.

"No, I got that. Did you have to tackle us both?"

Derek let out a small chuckle. Trust that to be the greatest of Spence's worries. He shook his head.

"You're welcome, Reid."

Beneath him, Cory lay on the ground, blood running from the corner of his mouth, and glaring up at Derek until the agent grabbed him by the front of his jacket and started pull him to his feet.

"Come on, let's go, Cory."

Grabbing hold of the teenager, Derek led him up to the quickly approaching sirens, leaving Reid lying in the fallen leaves as the genius pushed himself onto one elbow and looked around.

Spencer jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, but quickly relaxed when he saw Derek crouch down beside him in the leaves. The older agent smiled at him.

"You doing okay?"

Spencer nodded and rested his chin on his arms which were wrapped around his knees.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thank you, you know, for saving me. You know, I thought he was actually going to shot me."

Spencer felt his voice petering off as he said the last bit. It was true. He had been sure that he was going to die; it was why half of the time he had been too afraid to look at Derek directly. He'd been afraid that Derek would have to watch him die.

He felt Derek shift to sit beside him, and then a warm arm wrapped around his waist as eh tugged closer to the warmth of Derek's body. Another hand came up to turn Spencer's face towards him, exposing his left cheek, and Derek smoothed his thumb over where the gun had pressed into him.

"You're probably going to bruise."

Spencer nodded.

"I'd guessed."

Derek looked at Spencer, his eyes searching his face for a moment or two before the older agent hauled his boyfriend into his arms and tucked him under his chin. Spencer went willingly, wanting the affection and security of Derek's hold that from the outside, could seem to be simply comfort given from one friend to another. Derek had one hand over the back of Spencer's head, holding him steady, and he leant down to bury his face into his long hair.

"I thought I was going to have to watch you die. I thought you were going to die right there and there'd be nothing I could do about it. When I heard you coming over, and he had that gun… I never want to feel that helpless again, not when it comes to your safety, Spence. Man…"

Derek's voice caught on his last word, and Spencer clung a little tighter to him, letting him get himself back under control. They stayed like that until both men had their breathing back under control, and felt like they could stand without falling. Derek pulled back to rest his forehead again the side of Spencer's head, his movements concealed by the trees around them. He took a deep breath in, letting Spencer calm him.

After a moment or two more, the two men pulled away, and Derek climbed to his feet, one hand outstretched to help Spencer up off the floor. The young genius took his hand and let himself be pulled up before he dusted the dried leaves off him and started to follow Derek up the hill to where the rest of the group were collected just out of sight.

Before they came into eye line, Derek turned to Spencer and let their finger's glide together.

"I'm really glad you're okay."

Spencer smiled.

"I'm glad we're _both_ okay. Let's get back; the sooner we get everything sorted, the sooner we can go home."

Derek matched his smile with one of his own, and he squeezed his fingers before pulling away.

Sounds like a plan, Pretty Boy! Let's go."

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**I loved this scene between Morgan and Reid in this episode, and I just had an idea of what might have happened after Derek took the Unsub away if they had been a couple. Hope you guys enjoyed this little one-shot! Happy reading! Xx**


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